Garment bone



Oct. 20, 1959 M. SOBEL 2,908,913

. GARMENT BONE Filed Dec. 4. 195a INVENT'OR Morton Sobel ATTORWK/ United States Patent p I 2,968,913 a. GARMENT BONE. H Morton Sohel, lilastonpla, assignor-to Sobel Products, Inc., Easton, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application necinbei 4', 1958, SerialNo. 778,194

' 1 Claim. (C1. 2-260 This invention relates to stiffening and shaping members generally used in undergarments and more particularly known in the undergarment trade as boning members.

As the practice in the art, various means are employed to stiffen and furnish support and reinforcement to foundation garments where fabric alone is inadequate for the task; Various materials are employed, notable among which are flat, bent, zig-zagging, or spiraling wire of steel or plastic, and in earlier times even whale bone, from whence modern day terminology derives its name for such member.

In the use of wire and steel, sharp ends stabbing through layers of material have posed a difficult problem. In order to avoid such sharp ends, various means are employed to blunt these ends, some of which are the used of metal and plastic caps. Since these bones must be securely attachedto the garment, the general practice is to provide pocketing structures to contain such members. Where metal caps are employed to blunt the ends of such members, additional stitching within the pockets was necessary to firmly secure such bones, which entails a tacking operation or careful stitching to span the metal tip.

To avoid additional operations, a varietyv of plastic caps over such steel members have been attempted, but

although providing a partial solution to the aforemen tioned problem, in practice, the construction of these plastic caps has proven highly unsatisfactory in meeting the requirements for facility of manufacture and utility of the structures. Even slight pressure applied 'to present plastic ca'ps have caused them to detach themselves from the body of the stay, and even the average pressure exerted by the body of a wearer against such plastic tips has been suflicient to cause such tip to fracture and break, leaving a sharp metal edge remaining in the garment.

It is the object of this invention to provide a bone insert for use in an undergarment which can be used with present day bone strips, especially of metal, but which will allow such bone strips to be sewn to a garment without special precautions.

Another object is to provide a cap for a metal stay of yieldable, semi-flexible material which is bendable without causing fracture or detachment of the cap from such stay.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a cap on a bone stay which will retain its original shape without fracturing, even under the greatest strains produced by movements of a wearer of the garment.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a cap, in the nature of a lamination with a transverse aperture, extending therethrough tomake the cap wholly flexible and thus not subject to easy fracture upon flexing of such cap.

In accomplishing the foregoing and other objects of the present'invention, there is provided a plastic cap, one end of which is securely sealed to the body of a bone, the central portion of such cap having an aperture, and a solid opposite end comprising a sewing tip.

2,908,913 Patented Oct. 20, 1959 Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of an embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows the manner in which a bone is incorporated into a garment;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the boneas seen in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the bone as seen in Fig. 2;

. Fig...4 isan enlarged view of one end of the bone ace ording to this, invention showing the major portions of said bone; and i Fig. 5 is a sectional side view taken at 55 of Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawing, in which like numbers are applicable to the same elements in all of the figures, the bone 10 may be generally designated as having a body portion -11, and a plastic cap 12 comprising a sealed portion 13, an aperture 14 and a solid sewing tip 15 and 16, on each end of the body portion 11 respectively.

The body 10 comprises a comparatively narrow body portion 11 having plastic caps not appreciably greater in thickness or width than body portion 11 sealed to each end thereof. The body portion 11 in the embodiment shown in the drawing is made of formed wire in a spaced, reversing pattern. However, it should be understood that spiraling, bent, zig-zag Wire, flat steel or other resilient, semi-flexible material may be used for such body portion 11.

The plastic caps 12., 12 made of polyethylene or similar material which is penetrable by a sewing needle, tightly jackets the body of the bone 11 around several convolutions at either end of said body portion to form a single unified structure 13.

To prevent the cap from fracturing and breaking, and to allow unlimited flexibility, an aperture 14 is provided extending across the width and medially between the sealed portion 13 and the end portion of the cap which serves as the sewing tip 15, 16.

The provision of the aperture 14 efiectively relieves the pressure at the undersection 17 of the cap in a flexed position and thus prevents fracture of the cap and further allows for a-bending and flexing of 180 in either direction without the possibility of separation or breaking of the cap from the body of the bone, as seen in Fig. 3.

' The size of the aperture 14 is entirely dependent upon the requiredlength of the cap. Where it is necessary to have a long tip, 15, for sewing purposes, the size of the aperture is considerably enlarged. In the case of a small rigid tip 16, the aperture 14 is considerably decreased.

In order to efiect a tight jacketing of the cap with the body of the bone, it is contemplated that extruded strips of plastic generally of V shape be used. Several flat strips or other shapes and forms of extruded plastic may also be used. The end portions of the body of the bone are first heated in the range of 300400 F. and then inserted between the arms of the generally V shape extruded strips. Suflicient pressure is applied to result in a firmly sealed jacket of the plastic around the body of the bone. The extruded lengths of plastic are then cut to furnish long, short, or intermediate sizes of tips or may be variously shaped to the tailored needs of the user.

Where the use of a bone calls for sewing therethrough, a long, comparatively soft, flexible tip may be jacketed to the bone, whereas, where no sewing requirement is called for, a short rigid cap may be incorporated into the bone.

The bone constructed according to this invention may be incorporated into a garment, a portion 20 of which is shown in Fig. l. A pocket 21 which is formed by stitching of an overlaying fabric strip, ensheaths the bone. In order to further secure the bone firmly within the pocket,

a line of stitching 22, as for example, a hem, can be made I in the garment. The sewing needle, when forming this line of stitching can pass through the tip 14 of the plastic cap without danger of damage to the sewing needle.

While I have described aspecific embodiment of my invention it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made therein, and the structure as so modified or changed will still fall within the ambit of my invention. I claim: 0

A bone for use in an undergarment comprising an extended body and a flexible plastic end extending from said body, said plastic end having an inner end portion thereof tightly enveloping said body and having'its other outer end portion of suflicient length and width to be pierceable by a sewing needle, a medial portion between said end portion, and a transverse opening extending entirely through said medial portion whereby said outer end portion may be flexed within a' range of 360 without frac- 5 turing said flexible plastic end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain July 1, 1940 

